Mark of Love
by H. S. Hines
Summary: What is enough proof of love?


_Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, Sunrise, Yomiuri TV and I'm sure a bunch of other people who are not me are the owners of InuYasha and the characters within. Still, inspired to dream, inspired to write, from page and scene, it is my plight._

_Notes: This is a oneshot. I'm taking yet another used theme and trying to portray it differently than I've ever read it. _

Genre: Romance  
Rating: M/R  
Codes: Sess/Rin

Feedback: Reviews beget more fiction! My muse is a little thin anymore, but still trying his best now and then, particularly in light of the difficulty of writing around little grabby paws.

**Mark of Love**

She was tired as the sun drifted down past the mountains and the moon began glowing brighter in the sky. She looked for the first star of the night, but it had yet to appear. She craned her neck up and back, looking without turning her body until she overbalanced and fell into the grass. She giggled, letting the soft blades tickle her bare arms as she waved them up and down.

For a moment, she thought she saw the moon fluttering in the corner of her eye and she turned her head to see, but it was only his hair. She smiled at him and sat up, brushing off the back of her own hair to dislodge a few blades of grass. He was watching her intently and she couldn't help but to show off, stretching her arms up behind her head and loosening all the muscles in her shoulders. She knew it made her chest more prominent and she couldn't stop herself from teasing him.

After all, _he_ was the one who was watching.

He made a dismissive sound and looked away, his gold eyes paling when the last ray of sunlight pierced it in profile. She swallowed as her own body reacted to the view her eyes couldn't let go. She stood up, trying to be as graceful as possible, knowing she was hopeless. And, as she predicted, she stumbled over her own feet and stamped them impatiently. She heard a soft sound come from his lips and was indignant. He was laughing at her!

Incensed, she tried to storm past him, but deliberately brushed against him as she went. She only meant to tease, but his hand grabbed her arm, stopping her. She froze and looked up into his eyes, concerned she'd taken it too far and he was angry.

But it wasn't anger smoldering in their inhuman depths. She looked down, suddenly feeling very shy and certainly not used to being handled roughly by him. Sure, there had been a time or two in the beginning where he was less than gentle, but time had tempered his touch in the rare times when it was bestowed upon her.

"I'm sorry, I..." she began, but his lips silenced her as they pressed against her own. She gasped, totally taken by surprise. Swiftly, he stepped back, looking away. She stumbled as his grip released and just barely managed to stay standing. She blinked, staring at his shoulder, the red made more brilliant by the light of the setting sun.

"I shouldn't have," he apologized and her heart sank. How could he apologize! How she had longed over these years to feel his lips against hers. She had paraded herself around as much as decency would allow, waiting for him to notice that she needed a new kimono as her old one began revealing the curves of her growing body until the day he had simply handed her a new one.

"Why?" she asked, deciding on the direct approach. She had found that was the only way to get any information from him—if he was willing to give it.

"You did not want it," he answered simply. Her mouth dropped open and she stared in shock. What had made him think that? Outraged, she grabbed his sleeve and pulled until he had turned to look at her, then stood on her tiptoes to kiss him again. She watched his eyes as she sealed that warm touch again, until hers closed to bask in the charge moving up and down her skin like the air during a lightning storm.

She peeked open an eye to see that his were still open and relaxed back onto her flat feet once again.

"Whatever gave you _that _impression?" she asked. He blinked once and then she was enfolded in his arms, his mouth feeding from hers, his tongue brushing against her lips until she let them part and greeted it with her own. A small, pent up sound escaped her throat when his hand touched the back of her neck and she leaned her entire body into his, annoyed by the hard shell separating them.

She leaned back, breaking the kiss and she could see the confusion in his eyes. She knocked on his armor and he looked down. His eyes went wide as realization struck him for what she was asking. He met her eyes again with his own questioning pair and she smiled. He nodded and brought his hand up to untie the offending equipment. His eyes never left hers as he used only one hand to pull it up and over his head by the spiked metal bar and set it down on the ground with a thunk.

He let the fur mantle fall from his shoulder with a shrug and stepped back to her, sliding his hand into her hair to pull her head back to resume their kiss. She closed her eyes and melted entirely into it, aroused by the feeling of his body under the silk kimono. She found her hands tracing the muscles underneath with fascination and desire. Then she froze when his other hand slid into the fold of her kimono, above her obi.

Her entire body spasmed when he cupped her breast and heat flowed between her legs in a way she'd never felt before. She shuddered and arched her back, surprised at the sensation and enamored with it at the same time. She opened her eyes after they had both stopped moving for a few moments and looked into his—which were amused. The corner of his mouth was lifted ever so slightly and as she watched, the other side followed suit.

Her eyelids fluttered and her knees gave out when he flicked his thumb across the tip of her breast. She was lucky his reflexes were fast, because he caught her easily before she fell to the ground. He captured her eyes as he laid her down on the ground and didn't even blink as he kissed her again. She kept her eyes open and locked on his as he moved down.

Finally, he looked down where his hands were, which was where her kimono folded over. He tugged until he had enough loose material to push it open, baring her breasts. She blushed furiously, fighting her instinct to cover them. When he looked back up at her, to meet her eyes again, she started shivering, blushing harder when she saw her own nipples tighten as if inviting him.

He didn't release her gaze as he lowered his head towards her chest. Her breathing picked up and she wondered what he was about to do. His lips were only a hairsbreadth from her nipple and she could feel his breath. She felt herself tightening almost painfully between her legs in anticipation and she was nearly panting in nervous excitement.

When his tongue flicked out, her head hit the ground. He sucked on her breast and she found her voice betraying the calm she was trying to maintain. She arched her back, pressing her breasts more firmly into his mouth and hand and found her mind gasping 'yes' and 'please' repeatedly. After a moment, she realized that she was saying it out loud as well.

"Sesshomaru-sama," she gasped, barely able to catch her breath now.

"Yes, Rin?" he asked and she shook her head. How to tell him that she merely wanted to hear his name? He seemed to understand and he guided her to sit. She sat obediently, trying to calm the frantic fluttering of her heart. After a minute, she realized that he had untied her obi and was unwrapping it. She looked up at him in confusion. What was he doing?

She didn't say or do anything as he set her obi on top of his armor or as he started undressing himself. She stared at his chest, wanting to touch it, but now shy and frightened because she wasn't sure what was going on. She liked everything that had happened and had no idea that her body was capable of feeling this way. She wondered what more was to come.

"Sesshomaru-sama?" she asked as he pushed her kimono off her shoulders and she was totally naked next to him. He stopped his hands from releasing the tie on his hakama and met her eyes.

"Yes, Rin?" he repeated from earlier and she blushed.

"What are you doing?" she asked. He turned his head to the side a little and looked confused.

"I thought that this was what you wanted," he answered. He gestured to his armor and she realized that she _had_ asked, though she wasn't sure what she had asked for. She nodded.

"Yes, but what _is_ this?" she asked. His mouth opened a little and he blinked.

"You don't know?" he asked and she shook her head. He sighed and looked at the ground. The silence stretched on without him moving and she worried that she had done something wrong.

"Why have you stopped?" she asked. "Should I not have asked?"

"You're still a child," he answered, refusing to look at her.

"I am not!" she protested. "If I wasn't with you, I'd be a wife and mother many times by now!" He looked up at her and frowned.

"You want to be a mother?" he asked. Her mouth dropped open. This wasn't what she was trying to say!

"I hadn't thought about it," she answered truthfully.

"But you just said—"

"I only meant that I'm an adult, Sesshomaru-sama! I'm not sure, but I think I'm around twenty-three or twenty-five years old. I wouldn't even be able to _find_ a husband this old!" Rin only wanted answers, not to be the one answering questions. "I just wanted to know what we were doing." She looked down, feeling defeated and upset. Her body was throbbing and an ache had set up residence between her legs. She wanted him to touch her breasts again, only not as softly this time. She wanted to touch _him_ and press her body against his. But she didn't understand any of it.

"This is what a husband and wife do, Rin," Sesshomaru answered, finally and she looked up. "But I will not give you children. I do not want hanyou. I am not my father." She was surprised by his answer. "I did not know that you did not know."

"I want to, Sesshomaru-sama," Rin whispered. "Are you going to stop?" He turned and met her eyes again. She tensed with anticipation and hoped that he would do... exactly what came next.

* * *

Months passed and several times, Rin became sick and bled heavily afterwards, never understanding that Sesshomaru was keeping his word not to let her have his children. It seemed a small price to pay for the bliss that she lived in now. It seemed like nothing could destroy her perfect world and everything in her life was complete. 

Sesshomaru continued his path of conquest, becoming stronger and gaining more land to call his own and these days, he seemed much happier than before. Rin found herself singing again, something she had thought was left behind in childhood, but she couldn't contain the song in her heart. It yearned to be free.

Of course, their life couldn't remain so easy. There came the day when a youkai that Sesshomaru couldn't easily beat appeared in the northernmost part of his lands. Rin's song stopped when she had to sit by and watch her lord healing from the grievous wounds the thing inflicted upon him. But from the south, a pair of youkai came to offer their assistance against the beast.

Rin thought at first that they were siblings, for their markings were the same. Even their hair had the same violet hue and though their eyes were different colors, when engaged in battle, they both darkened to black with a frightening ember glow in the center.

So it shocked her, when, after the battle, which took an entire week of attacking and falling back, attacking and pressing forward, that they turned and embraced each other—following it with a passionate kiss. She just stared in curiosity until they stopped, then quickly found a patch of sky to watch as its cloud morphed from a flower to a dragon in mere minutes. They bade their farewells and left her and Sesshomaru by the enormous corpse that was already beginning to disappear.

"Sesshomaru-sama?" Rin began softly.

"Yes, Rin?" he answered easily as he stepped up behind her and rested his chin on the top of her head—something they both enjoyed.

"Were those youkai not family?" she asked, not really knowing how to pose the question she wanted to ask.

"Not in the way you're asking," he answered. "They were married." Rin was full of questions now.

"Youkai marry?"

"Yes."

"The way that humans marry?"

"Sometimes."

"Have you ever married?" Rin asked suddenly and Sesshomaru stiffened.

"No, Rin." He stepped back and she wondered what she'd asked that was wrong. He had been alive for centuries—Jaken had said so many times back when he was still with them.

"Have I offended you?" Rin asked, turning to search his face.

"No," he answered. "I have never..." He looked away. "Why did you ask if they were family?"

"Because their markings were the same. I thought that only family were marked alike. You look like your mother, so I just thought..." Rin looked at the ground. She felt foolish now. She thought she understood something, but apparently, she hadn't.

"You're right, Rin," Sesshomaru said, making her look up. "But the reason they were the same is that he had marked her."

"What is that?" Rin asked. Sesshomaru started walking away from the bones that were all that was left of the once-mighty youkai that had terrorized this part of his territory and Rin followed. He was silent for so long, she decided he must not want to answer her for some reason. But before the sun had set, he began speaking as though hours of silence had not passed between them. She was used to that, too.

"When a youkai decides that he wants no one else to have his wife as theirs and would rather die than be apart from her, he might mark her. He shares his youki with her, mingling it into hers until they are indistinguishable. Her own marks will change into his and that is why it is called 'marking.' Their powers are shared between them, making both partners stronger."

"Why don't all youkai who love each other do that, then?" Rin asked.

"Not all youkai can love, Rin," Sesshomaru answered softly. Her heart skipped a beat. Did that mean he couldn't love her? "But it's not an easy commitment like marriage. You can escape from a marriage if it becomes tedious after a few hundred years. But you cannot ever leave the one you mark. Nor can she leave you. The only way to leave is to die..." Rin waited because it didn't sound like Sesshomaru had finished the thought. It took a while and the sun had set before she finally prompted him.

"To die or...?" Rin asked, unable to wait any longer.

"To kill her," he finished, refusing to look at Rin.

"Oh," she said, realizing why he hadn't just finished it. He knew that would disturb her. She was quiet, fretting over the thought of someone killing the person he'd promised to be with forever until Sesshomaru's hands found their way to her shoulders. Within minutes, she had no more dark thoughts at all.

* * *

More time passed before Rin and Sesshomaru even saw another sentient being. They simply enjoyed each others' company and were glad not to have any distractions. The world was quiet and they happily took advantage of it. 

So it came as a direct shock when the pack of wolves stumbled upon Rin while she was bathing. She looked up, startled when one of them whistled at her. _Wolves_, she thought, fear shooting through her. Terrified, she froze in the cold pond and ducked her breasts beneath the surface.

"Hey there, pretty lady," one of the pack called out, separating from the rest. He had long white hair like her lord, only it wasn't cared for and she could see the tangled clumps in it from where she was hiding in the water.

"I smell another youkai," another voice called to the first wolf and he and Rin both turned to look at him. He was holding her clothes. He looked up through his shaggy brown mane of hair at her and she shuddered. "She's human, though."

"Oh. So she's someone's pet?" the white-haired youkai said and turned to leer at her. "Think he cares about sharing?" The other wolves laughed and Rin started backing through the water, trying to look like she was standing still.

"I don't think she wants to play," yet another of the pack said, eliciting more laughs.

"Well, I think he'd be pissed if we ate her," the white-hair said, "But I doubt he'd notice if we just had a little fun." He laughed and jumped into the water and Rin screamed.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" she shrieked and the whole pack froze.

"Who did she call?" she heard one of them ask. Another let out a string of expletives.

"She's bluffing," said the white-haired wolf. "No way would Lord Sesshomaru screw some pathetic little human."

"I heard he traveled with a human girl," the wolf had teased about her not wanting to play confirmed. "We better get the hell outta here. If she is his pet, we don't want to..."

"Want to what?" came the familiar voice that immediately calmed Rin. The entire pack turned to Sesshomaru with fear. The one in the water quickly hurried out.

"We didn't realize she was yours!" the white-hair yelled as he ran towards his pack. But Sesshomaru was staring at the wolf he'd interrupted.

"What did you call her?" he asked dangerously. The wolf flinched and ducked his mostly bald head.

"Your pet?" he said. "I'm sorry if that's wrong! We hadn't heard about you marrying no human woman!"

Sesshomaru looked at Rin, who was shivering from both fear and cold.

"Did any of them touch you?" he asked. Rin shook her head, but stared at the white haired wolf. Sesshomaru followed her gaze. "He intended to?" he asked, correctly interpreting her gaze.

"No!" the white-haired youkai protested. "I was just playing! I wasn't going to hurt her or nothin'!" Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. The wolf's eyes widened and he turned to run. He didn't make it. Rin closed her eyes and turned away so she didn't have to see. She heard the other wolves howling in protest and begging him for mercy, but she knew that he did not believe in any such thing.

Still, she was relieved to hear him tell them to leave if they wanted to live and she turned back when she figured they'd be too far away for her to see.

"Are you all right?" he asked. She was shivering violently now, as the sun had hidden behind a cloud and taken the little bit of warmth that had been left in the day. "Come out of the water. Now." Rin nodded and obediently treaded water to the shore, where she pulled herself out and reached for her kimono. Sesshomaru grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him, embracing her.

* * *

That wasn't the last incident of its kind. Rin started hearing the villagers' comments for the first time when they passed near enough for them to see her with Sesshomaru-sama. She blushed as she understood what they meant now. She tried not to let them hurt her, but after a few years she started wondering why everyone seemed to say the same thing. 

She was a whore.

Rin's song had died again. She tried not to let it show, tried to always be happy as she had, but she was tired of Sesshomaru-sama having to save her every time she was alone and a youkai found her. She was tired of hearing what the humans said about her—not that she cared much for human opinions. But when youkai agreed...

She was thinking too hard as she watched the sun rising one morning and she didn't hear him walk up behind her. A tear actually fell as she became afraid of what would happen when she grew old. Would Sesshomaru-sama stay with her? When would he leave?

"What happened?" his voice broke through her thoughts and she jumped. She stood up, trying to wipe away the tear before he saw, but she knew he knew it was there. She shook her head, unable to trust her voice. His eyes narrowed at her and he frowned. "Tell me."

"When will Sesshomaru-sama leave Rin?" she asked, revealing her fear for the first time in years.

"Why would I leave?" he asked, his face returning to its usual lack of expression.

"I will grow old," Rin said. "I don't know how many more years I can keep up with you," she admitted.

"You can ride Ah-Un," he said practically. She nodded and looked away, accepting that he would not answer her question. She tried to smile, but it was just not there for her.

"What are you asking, Rin?" Sesshomaru asked.

"I don't know," she said. She had been as straightforward as she could be. He stepped in front of her again, catching her eyes.

"What do you want?" he asked softly. Her eyes went wide.

"To be yours," she answered.

"You are," he replied.

"No one knows that," she said and then covered her mouth. She hadn't realized that _that_ was what had been bothering her.

"You want to marry me?" he asked. Rin looked away. She couldn't meet his eyes when she answered.

"Is that selfish?" She waited for an answer, not moving a muscle more than was required to breathe. She even kept her eyes closed so she didn't have to blink.

"Then marry me," he said simply. She looked up at him, her mouth open.

"I thought Sesshomaru-sama did not love Rin," she said. His eyes opened wide.

"How foolish."

* * *

Rin's heart was singing again. It had been no easy feat finding someone to marry her to her lord—no... her husband. Despite the difficulty, it had been done and now she was his. Everyone knew it who mattered and the insinuations and attacks stopped. No one called her a pet again. 

Years again passed with her happy as a bride and wife. It seemed strange to her that she was a wife. She had always pictured a wife with her hair tied back, cleaning a house and cooking for her husband. But her husband didn't eat with her and he had no house for her to clean. And she knew that she couldn't have children now. The last serious bleed she had had driven her to a healer in a village to find that she had lost a baby.

She then knew that Sesshomaru was responsible and what had been happening all this time. The herbs he gave her for tea—they had taken away all the children they would have had together. She tried not to count the number of times she had fallen along the way to lose yet another baby. But the healer had said that there was a lot of damage and she would never conceive again. A large part of her was relieved, because it meant she would never have to take the herbs knowing what they were. A small part of her was sad, but it was a part she had never allowed herself to acknowledge and the pain passed quickly.

So she was a wife with the whole world as her house and no children to care for. It was a strange freedom she had never expected. And freedom was something she had in abundance. Sesshomaru still left her behind to care for herself fairly often and she still chased after him when she was tired of waiting.

This was one of those days.

"I have a wife," she heard him say and stopped. She was upwind, so she knew he couldn't smell her yet and she knelt behind the tree, where she wasn't likely to be seen or heard. She peeked around and had to stifle a gasp. One of the most beautiful women she had ever seen was standing in front of him. She looked like a princess, wearing more kimonos than Rin could count in her brief look, her long, black hair looking like a thing alive and shining. Her eyes were a brilliant green and her lips were as red as Sesshomaru's kimono's shoulder and sleeves.

"To a human, Sesshomaru-sama. Surely she can't meet your needs."

"I would not have married her if she did not," he replied, making Rin smile.

"Really? Can she fly with you? Or does she keep you on the ground, trapped in that lesser form?"

"I like this form," he said.

"Perhaps. But she's not your kind. She'll grow old and die and then what? You'll have to start over."

"Who said that I was interested in that?"

"I say you are. I believe you're tired of the old life. When that Naraku creature perished, you proved that you were the strongest youkai that lives. No one doubts that, your rule is assured. I think you battle only boredom now and how can a human help you there? You know that I can."

"I am not interested in discussing a moot point."

"It is not! Your father and mother were only married—it was nothing for your father to leave and find happiness elsewhere."

"With a human."

"Who he would have grown tired of, we both know that. My point is that he had a child first—at least let me give you that."

"Leave me," he commanded, turning away. Rin ducked back behind the tree and froze. He'd seen her, she knew it. She stood and ran, unsure of why, just knowing that she wanted to get away from that scene. Marriage meant nothing to that youkai woman. Maybe it meant nothing to him. He'd suggested it casually enough. Rin didn't get very far before she was in his arms, moving faster than her eyes could handle and she closed them.

He set her down after a few minutes and they were far, far away from where they had been before. He had traveled with her like that before, saving her life, but never at a time when she wasn't beside herself with joy to see him. Now she was angry—angry at her doubt, angry at her humanity, which had always been just fine for her—and angry at that woman who had tried to seduce her husband away from her.

"Let me go!" Rin shouted, pushing out of his arms. Sesshomaru let go and she fell to the ground with an "oomph!" She sulked there for a moment, unsure what she wanted to do next.

"What have I done to earn your ire, Rin?" he asked.

"I'm not angry at you," Rin said, digging her toe into the ground. "I'm angry at me."

"Why?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"Because I'm not enough."

"That woman's opinion does not mean anything to me."

"If it were just her opinion, it wouldn't bother me, either. But she's right. I can't give you anything. Not even a child—you've seen to that."

"I told you that I didn't want children—"

"With me, I know. You don't want hanyou. I don't care about that. But she's right—I tried to tell you before. I'm going to grow old, I _can't_ be _that_ interesting and it would be better for you to be with someone like her."

"Be silent," Sesshomaru snapped. Rin glanced up at him, startled. He never talked to her like that, not even when silencing her when she was an obnoxious child. "Do I have more to prove to you than I already have? The only thing further I could do would kill you."

"What do you mean?" Rin asked, confused. Sesshomaru looked down at her.

"I could try to mark you, if it will silence these fears of yours. But it will probably kill you. Your body would be poisoned with my youki. I've never heard of a human surviving it." Rin felt cold. She had never even considered asking him to do that.

"I wouldn't want you to have to kill me when you finally grow tired of me," Rin said. She scooted away a little at the anger that filled his eyes with her words.

"You're a fool," he hissed and then he pinned her to the ground. Rin stared at him, wide-eyed, wondering if she would survive whatever anger she had put inside of him. With one hand, he pressed her face down into the earth, stretching her neck bare. With the other, he pricked her skin with his claw.

Rin screamed.

It was burning her. First, it was like a drop of liquid fire at her throat, then it felt as though she was being flooded with it. She screamed and cried at the pain she had never imagined she could feel. Her body thrashed beneath him but when she opened her eyes, all she could see was red. Red was the pain in her veins, carried there by the poisoned youki of the man she loved.

It seemed to last forever—hours were passing in her mind as she lie dying. For that was certainly the only outcome to this pain—her death. In a way, it was comforting. He would rather kill her than live without her. And she held onto that comfort—this was his love. This unspeakable torment was his proof. He didn't want to leave her. He had promised his life to her, if she could only survive.

But the red was fading to black and the pain was leaving her—along with her life. She flashed back to the two other times she'd died—once, killed by wolves, once, dragged into Hell, and each time, she awoke to _his_ face. She wanted to do that again. It was important not to relax! She had to _fight!_

The black began to burn back to red as her mind struggled to hold onto the image. She saw Sesshomaru's face in her mind and it was blurry at first, but it gradually sharpened until it was totally clear. She focused on that image until suddenly, there was the briefest reflection of fear and she blinked.

Blinked.

Rin's eyes flew open as she realized that she hadn't been focusing on a memory, but her actually lord husband's face! She smiled weakly, feeling as though she had been through hell. The fear disappeared, but his expression became guarded.

"Sesshomaru-sama?" she whispered. But even as she did, she felt strength flooding back into her body. Within moments, she felt as strong as she ever had and she sat up. He was still watching her quietly and she wondered what was wrong. Had he wanted her to die? An errant strand of his hair blew across her face and she lifted her fingers to move it...

She froze.

That wasn't _his_ hair. After a few seconds, she realized that the color was wrong—it was silver instead of his shining white. But it was her hands that had startled her. They weren't her hands—not as she remembered them. Certainly, her fingers were just a little shorter than these and had never before sported claws!

But when she commanded her hands to appear in front of her, indeed, these new fingers were displayed as she expected her own to be. She reached up and pulled a strand of hair into her vision—which, somehow, seemed sharper than before—and sure enough, it was more of the fine silver stuff of before.

"What's happened?" Rin asked. "This isn't my body!"

"I'm sorry," Sesshomaru spoke and Rin's entire body went rigid with fear. He had _apologized_. She had never heard him speak those words in her entire life with him.

"Please," she begged—desperate to know what was going on.

"I should have realized what would happen when I put my youki into you—what would happen if you survived. It only makes sense."

"What makes sense?!" Rin cried, trembling. "What has happened to me?"

"You are a hanyou," Sesshomaru answered coldly, standing up. He may as well have said 'you are dead' for that would certainly have been a kinder answer, Rin thought. He turned away and she began to cry. Yes, being dead would have been a mercy compared to being the thing her lord hated most in the world.

He didn't leave as her silent sobs became desperate and she worked herself into a hysteria. He didn't even move as she eventually ran out of tears and had to calm down. She was down to nothing but soft gasps when he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. But he still didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry," Rin whispered and Sesshomaru turned around. She couldn't meet his eyes. She didn't want to see the hatred that was certainly filling them. He stared at her for a while before she finally made the offer that was the only thing she could think to give as proof of her remorse. "If I may have a sword, I'll rid you of your burden," she whispered, then closed her eyes. He said nothing and after a while, she opened her eyes to make certain he was still there.

"If that is what you wish," he said, so softly that she finally met his eyes. There was not the hatred she expected settled there, but pain. She was certain that he was sorry that it had come to this. She knew he loved her, it must hurt to see her as such a thing as she was now.

"I wish to serve Sesshomaru-sama," Rin answered. "I do not want to be your only regret. I know how you despise hanyou." His pain turned to confusion in his eyes.

"You do not wish to die?"

"I wish to do only as my lord desires," Rin answered. She didn't want him to feel guilty over her death.

"Rin, speak plainly. Do you want to live?" Sesshomaru knelt down so she couldn't escape his gaze. She blinked rapidly, fighting the tears that her body had somehow found to shame her again.

"Yes," she whispered. "I wish to live as your wife until the day I die," Rin blinked harder against the traitorous tears, but they fell anyway.

"You do not hate me?" Sesshomaru asked and the tears stopped. For a moment, Rin thought her own heart had stopped.

"Hate!" she gasped. "Why would Rin hate Sesshomaru-sama? I love you!" she cried, throwing herself against his chest and hoping that he didn't push her away.

He didn't.

Instead, his arms wrapped around her shoulders and he pulled her closer to him. He pressed his cheek against her hair and Rin lost control again and began to cry against his shoulder. He didn't reject her, though she imagined he must be very uncomfortable with it. She forced herself to calm down and ask the question that was burning in her mind.

"You don't hate Rin?" she choked out.

"I could not," he answered. "This Sesshomaru could not hate his Rin." She gave a brief sob at the formality of the statement—rarely did he speak to her in such terms—and she lifted her head to find his lips with her own. She felt the strangeness of her own mouth as he kissed her back and twice she nicked her lip on her own fangs. He had never caught her mouth on his and she was fairly annoyed with herself.

Sesshomaru pulled back and stood up, taking Rin with him. She looked around with her new eyes and was amazed at the clarity of vision she suddenly had. She noticed him watching with an unreadable expression and looked up at Sesshomaru curiously. He sighed and she made a questioning sound.

"Somewhere... my brother is laughing at me."

* * *

Rin took her first available opportunity to gaze at herself in a still creek a few days later. She bent down and stared at the strange marks on her neck. They weren't on her face like she expected. They circled halfway behind her neck, leaving the twin stripes where Sesshomaru had injected his youki into her blood. She had already found the crescent atop her heart the first night when they had celebrated her survival and lengthened life span. 

She cupped her hand into the stream, disturbing the silver haired girl in the water to take a drink. She closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the cold taste in her mouth. Even water tasted different. She had been experimenting with different foods the past few days and found that flavor was much more intense in her new mouth. Including the taste of her blood when she cut her tongue over and over on her canines.

She heard a footfall behind her and spun to catch a small youkai stepping out of the forest. She wasn't sure what he was, but he was shorter even than her lord's brother. He looked surprised to see her and then leered.

'_Even now! Even now they think those things!_' Rin thought angrily. As her anger rose, she gritted her teeth and bared them at him. Immediately, the leer faded and his eyes widened.

"Forgive me, Rin-sama! I did not recognize you!" he said, then turned and fled. She saw a flutter of red in her side vision and turned to the stream to see her own reflection. Her eyes were the same red that Sesshomaru's became when he was enraged. Even as she watched, they faded to the golden honey color that her eyes were in this new form.

Then she realized what had happened. She looked where the youkai had retreated and smiled. Finally, someone had acknowledged her! She was Sesshomaru-sama's and no one would question it anymore. Before she could stop herself, a small tune bubbled out and she found herself singing the entire way back to her lord husband.

_**The End.**_

_A/N: What the hell. What the hell, people. RinSesst. Lol, okay so not my usual fare, but I think it went okay. I wasn't icked out and hopefully, you weren't, either ;) And look, everyone's still alive! OMG. Anyway, my muse was tickling the fore of my brain with the desire to toy with the marking phenomenon. After all, if professional writers are okay with it (LKH being the first of my exposure, long before) I figure I can give it a go. Not fond of the typical, I, the methodology may be different, but I think you'll find references to popular markage deep enough to please. This just seemed the pairing to use for my dabbling. I hope you enjoyed! This kinda came out of nowhere and it's hard to write, particularly lime, with a toddler. I toyed with a Japanese title, but "Ai no Shirushi" seemed a bit... I don't know. I like it better, but I'm still not ready for that yet, I guess. This is my 47th IY story and I'm not ready? Ha! Well, I suppose it's that I don't want to risk poor conjugation ;) And I want to dedicate "Silver and Cold" by AFI to Sesshomaru-sama. Dai suki desu, Sesshomaru-sama!_


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